Class of 2006: I Survived High School

As of May 27th I have been out of high school for exactly 10 years. I feel old as hell!!! Over the last decade, my Campbell High School memories have faded into nothingness. I can barely remember people’s names and since I still live in my hometown I dread running into anyone from high school, especially people from a different class. Of course I haven’t forgotten everyone. Thanks to good ole social media I am able to see how my old peers’ lives are unfolding, and I still keep in touch with a handful of people, but I can only really recall major situations from my high school experience.

High school life was far from glamorous for me. I wasn’t popular, but I wasn’t bullied either. I had a small circle of friends and lived a relatively mediocre life. Like many people, I had very low self-esteem. I was the fat girl (I’m still the fat girl, just with a better wardrobe and I’ve learned a few makeup tricks) I felt invisible, and I was longing for my crush to fall in love with me. Thankfully that never happened; time has not been good to him. What I’m trying to say is that high school sucked, but I never dwelled on how bad it was, I just remember focusing on maintaining a good G.P.A. while anxiously awaiting graduation and going off to college.

After high school I never really looked back. My high school friendships didn’t last and I haven’t really sat around thinking of shit I did in high school. The experience definitely shaped me, but in a way I’ve grown past that experience. I went off to college, met the loves of my life – my best friends, and had the time of my life. I still wasn’t popular, I wasn’t a part of any type of cliché cliques, and still had self-esteem issues, but I was happier. I was on my own, and as cliché as this sounds, I was “finding myself.” I don’t regret my high school experience; it wasn’t easy, but I’m grateful for it. 10 years later – it doesn’t matter that I never got invited to parties, never had a ton of friends, a boyfriend, a prom date or a first kiss in high school. My situation was rare and unique, especially compared to what these kids are doing these days. I’m happy with how my life has turned out over the past decade, and even though I’m not sure I’ll be going to the 10 year reunion, I wouldn’t change my high school experience for anything in the world.